When you were learning to drive, were you taught anything about ways to save gas? Probably not. Yet transportation contributes 14% to total global greenhouse gas emissions. Fumes and air pollutants coming out of vehicle tail pipes are one of the biggest sources of smog and dirty air, too.  I’d love to see driver’s ed programs include information on driving efficiently and cleanly for new drivers. Until then, we’ve teamed up with DrivingOffice.com, which helps new drivers in my home state of Michigan pass their driver’s test by taking the Michigan permit practice test. Here are 10 ways to save gas this summer you need to know, whether you’re new to the wheel or have a lot of miles under your tires.

1-Follow the 10-second rule before you idle your car.

It’s easy to think you’re only stopping for a short time when you idle in park, and not worth turning the engine off.

The truth is that, any time the engine is on and you’re not moving, you’re wasting gas and money.

In fact, idling a car for as little as ten seconds actually uses more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. If you spend five minutes idling, you’ll waste a perfectly good gallon of gas!

When Should You Turn Off Your Car?

⇒Turn the car off when you’re stuck at a railroad crossing, or waiting to pick someone up at school or their house, and skip the drive-throughs when the lines are long.

⇒Turn off your car when you’re waiting for a pick-up if it’s going to take longer than 10 seconds to get your goods.

⇒Never idle at a school, especially when you’re waiting to pick up little kids. You’ll just be filling the air with toxic fumes they shouldn’t have to breathe.

Don’t Miss: Ways to Save $20 – $50 Every Month on Gasoline

2-Drive at a constant speed.

The more you accelerate quickly and brake suddenly, the more fuel you use.

How should you start and stop?

⇒Don’t be a “jack rabbit.” Ease up to a stop sign or stop light then ease away at a moderate speed.

3-Drive the speed limit.

Obviously, you want to drive the speed limit to avoid getting a ticket.

Driving the speed limit will keep you alive, too, since speeding leads to so many accidents.

But driving faster than 65mph gobbles up gas, too. In fact, driving at a speed of 85 mph uses 40% more fuel than if you drove at 70 mph.

How fast should you drive?

⇒Stick to the posted speed limit.

⇒Drive 65 on the highway to use a lot less fuel.

4-Keep your car tires properly pumped up.

Not having enough air in your car tires can reduce the number of miles you get per gallon of gasoline by 3%. That may not sound like a lot, but it could amount to as much oil as is in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Instead of destroy that wilderness, we can all simply keep our tires pumped up to the proper psi, or pounds per square inch.

When should you pump up your tires?

⇒ A good rule of thumb is to check the tire pressure every time the seasons change, so maybe four times a year. If you don’t know the psi, it’s easily found on a little sticker right inside the door jamb of the front driver’s-side door.

Keep a tire pressure gauge in the glove compartment of the car so it’s easy to check the tire pressure.

5-Change the oil regularly and get an annual tune up.

Maintaining your vehicle is important for lots of reasons. Cars tend to have a longer life if they are well maintained. They also run more efficiently, which means you do not have to buy as much fuel.

How often should you get an oil change?

⇒Read your vehicle manual, but most manufacturers recommend an oil change every 3,000 – 5,000 miles. You can find lots of coupons online for discounts that will bring oil change costs down to only around $20 bucks a pop.

⇒Tune ups are recommended annually.

6-Use air conditioning instead of opening windows.

You may think that opening the windows in your car, instead of using air conditioning, is a good idea. But it turns out that the opposite is true. Open windows increase the amount of drag, which means that open windows in a fast-moving car actually slow the car down, so you end up using more gas than you would if the air conditioning was switched on.

When to use AC?

⇒Use the AC when you’re traveling at speeds above 40 mph on the highway. You can use the lowest fan setting and keep cool air circulating to make it comfortable.

⇒Roll the windows down when you’re just driving around town at lower speeds.

⇒Use a windshield shade to reflect sunlight away from your car and keep internal temperatures cooler.

7-Carpool and share the gas – and the cost.

Carpools are a great idea. Not only do you save on the cost of gas, because you use your vehicle less frequently; you also get to chat with a group of friends during the journey.

8-Combine trips and use apps to shorten distances traveled.

If you do not plan your week effectively, you can end up driving a greater distance than required. If you need to go to the doctor and the mall, and they are both in the same direction, go to both on the same journey where possible. As a result, you drive a shorter distance and you save on the cost of extra fuel.

What apps are the best for creating gas-saving travel routs?

⇒Waze is popular, but Google Maps is great, too!

9-Park where you are

How many times have you driven around for a while, looking for a parking space that is closer to your destination? If you are able, it’s a much better idea to park in the first spot you can, and simply walk a little further. You end up saving money and time.

What apps make parking quick and easy?

Parking Panda

Park Whiz

Best Parking

10-Put your car on a diet.

Many people keep too much stuff in their car. Extra weight makes the vehicle heavier, increasing fuel consumption.

⇒De-clutter your vehicle and save money on gas. If you’re not going to use it, don’t keep it in the trunk or on the roof rack.

NOTE: Sponsors and partnerships like these allow us to bring you expert content at no cost to you. All editorial opinions expressed are our own. Thanks!

The post New Driver? The 10 Ways to Save Gas This Summer You Need to Know appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Most people wouldn’t put a pile of money on their driveway and set it on fire. But when you drive, you’re essentially burning money. Regardless of whether gas prices are high or low, because we’re traveling more, we’re all burning more money via our gas tanks than ever before. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can save $20 – $50 every month on gasoline by following these six steps.

1) Drive LESS. How? Walk, especially if you’re traveling distances less than a mile and don’t need to carry heavy loads. Bike. More than half of all commuting trips are 5 miles or less in length, a distance easily covered by two wheels rather than four. Scoot, with an electric scooter that costs far less to charge than it does to fuel up a car with gas. Get organized, so you can combine trips and chores rather than going back and forth to do them. Pay your bills and shop online. That includes using grocery delivery services if they’re available in your area. Carpool. Share the drive and share the bill. Avoid rush hour. Telecommute, go to work early and leave early, or look for other ways to avoid the worst times of the day to be in a car. Because when you’re just sitting in traffic, you’re just burning money.

2) Drive SMART. What does “smart” mean? More or less, it’s what you learned when you took driving lessons all those years ago before you even got your driver’s license. Start with the speed limit. Stick to it. The U.S. Department of Energy says that every 5 mph you drive above 50 mph can lower gas mileage by 7% or more. That could amount to as much as $.52 a gallon! Slow down a little and put the money in the bank. Plus, turn the car off rather than idle. Idling gets zero miles per gallon; if that’s not a waste of gas and money, I don’t know what is! Don’t be a “jackrabbit” and speed up only to have to slow down in between stop signs and traffic signals. As for tailgating, it can cost you 1-2 percent in fuel efficiency. What a waste.

3) Drive CHEAP. In most cases, your engine can tolerate the cheapest gas you can find. Get to know where gas costs less and buy yours there. The GasBuddy mobile app makes it easy to find the cheapest gas on your driving route every day. Don’t top off your tank. Not only will you waste money, but that “extra” evaporates pretty quickly, contributing to air pollution. Pay cash. It can be ten or twenty cents a gallon cheaper than paying by credit card. Use gas rewards programs. I earn gas points at my grocery store that I can use to lower the price I pay at the pump by ten, twenty and even thirty cents a gallon.

4) Drive IN TUNE. You’ll improve your gas mileage by an average of 4.1 percent when you get a tune up. Most cars need an oil change every 3,000 – 5,000 miles, too. If that’s too frequent for you, join Groupon, Living Social, or another social shopping site. You’ll find many affordable tune-up and oil change promotions that cut the service costs significantly.  While you’re at it, replace air filters regularly to get another 10 percent gain in fuel efficiency. Checking the oxygen sensor is smart, too. That’s the engine’s fuel control feedback loop. Repairing one that’s faulty could benefit your gas mileage as much as 40 percent.

5) Drive PUMPED UP. Gas mileage will improve by around 3.3 percent if you keep your tires properly inflated. Check your owner’s manual for appropriate inflation levels. You can buy a tire pressure gauge at your local hardware store and check your tires each time the seasons change. Then fill up your tires when you get gas.

6) Drive a GAS STRETCHER. Drive the most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your transportation needs as well as your budget. If you’re in a family with two cars, use the one that gets the most mpg for the majority of your trips. If you’re in the market for a new car, check the rebates and tax incentives available to encourage people to purchase hybrids and electric cars, rather than those that depend exclusively on fossil fuels.

All of these actions can add up to big savings. An added benefit? Using less gas is a lot better for the environment, since burning gasoline contributes to air pollution, climate change and smog.

So drive less, get smart, be cheap, tune in, pump up and stretch.

Unless of course you have money to burn.

MORE GREAT INFORMATION:

Save Energy, Stop Climate Change, Save Money

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The problem isn’t just “foreign” oil. Using any kind of fossil fuel to meet our transportation needs is a losing proposition. Drilling for oil wrecks the planet, or have we already forgotten the Gulf Oil disaster? And burning oil generates climate-changing carbon dioxide and nasty particles that create asthma-inducing smog.

If you’re in the market for a new car, take a look at electric options like the Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf. Gas-electric hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius or Ford Fusion merit consideration, too. Aim to buy the most fuel-efficient vehicle in your price range; this site maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy, will help you compare your choices.

But most of us can’t just go out and buy a new set of wheels (unless they’re on a bicycle). These ten tips offer the fastest, easiest ways you can save gas and money, no matter what kind of car you drive.

1. Drive smart – Avoid quick starts and stops, use cruise control on the highway, and don’t idle.

2. Drive the speed limit – Remember – every 5 mph you drive above 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.

3. Drive less – This should be a no-brainer. Walk, bicycle, use a scooter or moped, combine trips, and telecommute to work.

4. Drive a more fuel-efficient car – Consider one of the new hybrids; at the very least, choose from among the EPA’s “Fuel Economy Leaders” in the class vehicle you’re considering.

5. Keep your engine tuned up – Improve gas mileage by an average of 4.1 percent by maintaining your vehicle in top condition.

6. Carpool – According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 32 million gallons of gasoline would be saved each day if every car carried just one more passenger on its daily commute.

7. Use mass transit and “Ride Share” programs – Why pay for gasoline at all?

8. Keep tires properly inflated – Improve gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Replace worn tires with the same make and model as the originals.

9. Buy the cheapest gas you can find – Buy gas in the morning, from wholesale shopper’s clubs, and using gas-company rebate cards. Track neighborhood prices on the Internet.

10. Support higher fuel-efficiency standards and the development of alternative fuels – Ultimately, our best hope for beating the gas crisis is to increase fuel efficiency while we transition to renewable and non-petroleum based fuels. Endorse efforts to boost average fuel efficiency to at least 40 mpg. Support programs that promote research and development of alternatives to transportation systems based on oil.

If you do want to get rid of an existing vehicle, here’s how you can recycle it.

The post Top Ten Ways to Use Less Gas appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Apart from keeping your car in park, pumping up your tires to their proper “PSI” – pounds per square inch – is the fastest, cheapest way to reduce the amount of gasoline you use. Tires have a tendency to lose pressure over time or when the weather changes substantially; a car driving on underinflated tires needs more gas to move. You can gain 3.3% in fuel efficiency by inflating your tires. And with gasoline costing over $4/per gallon, every 3.3% gain means money in your pocket.

That gain also affords an immediate way to increase our supply of oil. As Barack Obama has noted in his vision for an energy independent America, if we all pumped up our tires to their proper PSI, the U.S. could easily gain from conservation  (i.e., using less fuel) three times as much oil as we could reap from far more costly and environmentally dangerous off-shore oil drilling. And that oil is available TODAY, not ten or twenty years hence – the time it takes to develop oil fields and convert petroleum into gasoline.

“Efforts to improve conservation and efficiency happen to be the best approaches to dealing with the energy crisis — the cheapest, cleanest, quickest and easiest ways to ease our addiction to oil, reduce our pain at the pump and address global warming. It’s a pretty simple concept: if our use of fossil fuels is increasing our reliance on Middle Eastern dictators while destroying the planet, maybe we ought to use less,” writes Michael Grunwald in Time.

Tire gauges are cheap. You can buy one for $10-$15 at your local auto supply store; or look here.

If you don’t know how to check your tire pressure, this video offers a good explanation.

You can easily save $20-$50 a month on gasoline if you pump up your tires and take other simple steps. Here are the top ten ways to beat high gas prices and increase America’s oil supply.

The post Cheapest, Fastest Oil Fix? Pump Up Your Tires! appeared first on Big Green Purse.

When it comes to global warming, burning less gas has always made sense. Now that gasoline costs more than $4.00 a gallon, reducing our consumption at the pump makes “cents,” too. These ten tips offer the fastest, easiest ways you can save gas – and money.

1. Drive smart – Avoid quick starts and stops, use cruise control on the highway, and don’t idle.

2. Drive the speed limit – Remember – every 5 mph you drive above 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.

3. Drive less – Walk, bicycle, use a scooter or moped, combine trips, and telecommute.

4. Drive a more fuel-efficient car – Consider one of the new hybrids; at the very least, choose from among the EPA’s “Fuel Economy Leaders” in the class vehicle you’re considering.

5. Keep your engine tuned up – Improve gas mileage by an average of 4.1 percent by maintaining your vehicle in top condition.

6. Carpool – According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 32 million gallons of gasoline would be saved each day if every car carried just one more passenger on its daily commute.

7. Use mass transit and “Ride Share” programs (here and here)- Why pay for gasoline at all?

8. Keep tires properly inflated – Improve gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Replace worn tires with the same make and model as the originals.

9. Buy the cheapest gas you can find – Buy gas in the morning, from wholesale shopper’s clubs, and using gas-company rebate cards. Track neighborhood prices on the Internet, at GasBuddy.com.

10. Support higher fuel-efficiency standards and the development of alternative fuels – Ultimately, our best hope for beating the gas crisis is to increase fuel efficiency while we transition to renewable and non-petroleum based fuels. Endorse efforts to boost average fuel efficiency to at least 40 mpg. Support programs that promote research and development of alternatives to transportation systems based on oil.

NOTE: For more ways to stop global warming, don’t miss the Green Moms Carnival at OrganicMania.

The post Save $20-$50 Per Month on Gasoline appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Big Green Purse lists ten ways you can conserve gas today and save at least $20-$50 every month at the pump. But you can save even more by taking the Drive Smarter Challenge, a new initiative from the Alliance to Save Energy.

What’s terrific about the Challenge is that it puts you in the driver’s seat — literally. The website simulates you driving, then suggests up to six fuel-efficiency actions you can easily take. If you do (or say you plan to), the website immediately calculates your savings in money, gasoline, and greenhouse gas emissions.

I took the challenge as if I were driving my son’s 2001, 6hp Toyota Avalon. By the end of my “road test,” I was informed I could save $433  (about 110 gallons of gasoline at the $4/gallon price, for almost 10 weeks of free gas) if I followed six simple recommendations like pumping up my tires and lightening the load in my trunk.

Plus, when I forwarded the site to a friend, I got a coupon for $10 off a Bosch Oxygen Sensor, which will help my engine run even more efficiently.

Beware: the website takes a longish time to load (at least on Explorer 6.0) and seems to re-load every time you switch screens. But those inconveniences are well worth the cost-savings you’ll enjoy if you take the Challenge.

Thumbs up to the Alliance to Save Energy for giving us this ingenious tool!

By the way, you can credit gas savings to your One in a Million balance sheet.

The post Take the Drive Smarter Challenge appeared first on Big Green Purse.

1. Drive smart – Avoid quick starts and stops, use cruise control on the highway, and don’t idle. (Using cruise control alone can improve fuel efficiency by as much as 14%!).

2. Drive the speed limit – Remember – every 5 mph you drive above 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.

3. Drive less – Traveling a mile or less? Walk, bicycle, use a scooter or moped. Have lots of errands to do? Combine trips. Researching, making conference calls, and writing? Telecommute, and do those jobs at home.

4. Drive a more fuel-efficient car – Consider one of the new hybrids; at the very least, choose from among the EPA’s “Fuel Economy Leaders” in the class vehicle you’re considering.

5. Keep your engine tuned up – Improve gas mileage by an average of 4.1 percent by maintaining your vehicle in top condition.

6. Carpool – According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 32 million gallons of gasoline would be saved each day if every car carried just one more passenger on its daily commute.

7. Use mass transit and “Ride Share” programs – Why pay for gasoline at all? (Search “ride share + your city” on the Internet to find options).

8. Keep tires properly inflated – Improve gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Replace worn tires with the same make and model as the originals.

9. Buy the cheapest gas you can find – Buy gas in the morning, from wholesale shopper’s clubs, and using gas-company rebate cards. Track neighborhood prices on the Internet.

10. Support higher fuel-efficiency standards and the development of alternative fuels – Ultimately, our best hope for beating the gas crisis is to increase fuel efficiency while we transition to renewable and non-petroleum based fuels. Endorse efforts to boost average fuel efficiency to at least 40 mpg. Support programs that promote research and development of alternatives to transportation systems based on oil.

For more ways you can save gas and money, see Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World.

The post Beat High Gas Prices: Save $20-$50 Every Month on Gasoline appeared first on Big Green Purse.

I asked Joanne Helperin, Senior Features Editor at the expert
car site Edmunds.com, if she had any advice for women who value
fuel-efficiency in their vehicles. Here’s her reply:

“One of the best ways to impact the environment positively is to buy a
fuel-efficient car. Fortunately, cars are offering greater fuel
efficiency than ever before, and the outlook for the future is even more
promising.

“In 2008, expect to see more hybrids from a wider variety of carmakers, as well as a smattering of new “clean diesels” from Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen. By the end of 2010, the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt (left) is expected to shake up the automotive industry.”

Joanne says you can find an abundance of helpful advice on the Edmunds.com’s Green Car Guide, Women and Family Car Guide and The Driving Woman blog. Meanwhile, here’s a short course on finding the fuel-efficient car that’s right for you, courtesy of www.edmunds.com.

(c) Edmunds Inc.  All rights reserved.  Reprinted with permission from
www.edmunds.com.

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